GM’s 2023 Hummer EV full size electric SUV is produced at the retooled Detroit-Hamtramck Plant using the Ultium EV platform. (Image Source: General Motors)
Lear Corp. Has announced it is working with Michigan state and local officials on a plan to open a new manufacturing facility in the region with an anticipated investment of more than $80 million.
The site, which will manufacture battery disconnect units (BDUs) and other vehicle electrification components, is expected to generate $500 million in annual electrification sales when it reaches full production.
The BDU is the primary interface between a vehicles battery pack and the electrical system and its electromechanical switches open or close high current paths between these two units. The BDU provides feedback to a battery control unit (BCU), including voltage and current data. The BCU controls the switches in the BDU using low current paths based on the feedback received from the BDU. Lear's BDU is tuned for the performance requirements of larger electric vehicles. SUVs and light-duty trucks comprise most of GM’s new vehicle sales.
The BDUs manufactured at the Michigan plant will be part of an exclusive deal to supply General Motors (GM) with BDUs and other electrification components for all the automaker’s full-size SUVs and trucks built on the Ultium EV Platform. The deal runs through 2030.
"This additional new business with GM was made possible by Lear's recognized value proposition in electrification that combines flexible manufacturing operations and advanced Industry 4.0 automation technologies with our vertically integrated capabilities," Ray Scott, Lear’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
"As a Michigan-headquartered company, it is important to make this investment in our backyard. This facility will provide hundreds of highly skilled jobs to the state and will be our largest investment in an electrification-focused production site to date," said Scott.
Lear, based in Southfield, Mich., is a global automotive technology company with more than 160,000 employees working in 257 facilities in 38 countries. The company sells to every major automaker in the world and ranks 186 on the Fortune 500.